Episode 077: Adam Braun – Pencils Of Promise: Growing A “For Purpose” Organization Through Intrinsic Motivation

Adam Braun is an extremely intelligent and selfless leader.  He is intrinsically motivated and is focused on constant self-improvement in order to serve and help others.  He firmly believes in family and the important role they play in one’s life.  We are extremely fortunate to have Adam share his knowledge with us, the loyal listeners of The Learning Leader Show. 

Adam is a New York Times bestselling author and the Founder of Pencils of Promise, an award-winning organization that has broken ground on more than 300 schools for children in poverty around the world. He is also the Director of the Global Education Platform, an initiative conceived by the UN Special Envoy for Global Education to accelerate breakthroughs in learning innovation.

He has been featured as a speaker at The White House, the United Nations and the Clinton Global Initiative. He has also been named to Business Insider’s 40 Under 40, Wired Magazine‘s 50 People Who Are Changing the World, and was selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s original ten Global Shapers.

Episode 077: Adam Braun – Pencils Of Promise: Growing A “For Purpose” Organization Through Intrinsic Motivation

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The Learning Leader Show

“If you could have anything in the world, what would you choose? – “A pencil.” – Adam Braun speaking with a child in India

Some Questions I Ask:

• What are the common characteristics of people who have sustained excellence over time?
• How has your family’s incredible journey and story played a role in your decision making process and the expectation level you set for yourself?
• What specifically have you learned from you parents that you will pass down to your future children?
• What prompted you to start Pencils of Promise?
• Why don’t you like the term “non-profit?”
• What is your relationship like with your famous brother Scooter Braun? (Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande’s business manager)
• What does being a learning leader mean to you?

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Being intrinsically motivated and how that determines long term success
• The importance of his family and the expectation level set from his parents
• The incredible story of a near death experience while on Semester at Sea
• Specific learnings from children in developing countries
• What specifically Pencils of Promise does and how many schools they’ve built
• Why Adam is so uncomfortable with contentment
• His relationship with his brother Scooter and the roles they play in each other’s lives
• That participation trophies should not exist and why they harm children’s growth
• Servant leadership and what it means to serve and be humble

“Integrity is the currency that buys trust.” – Adam Braun

Continue Learning:

• Go to Adam’s website: AdamBraun.com
• Read Adam’s book: The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraodinary Change
• See why over 300,000 people follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamBraun

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Episode 034: Jimmy Hatch – Shot While Searching For Bowe Bergdahl And Sky Diving With Gabby Giffords

Episode 004: How Todd Wagner (and Mark Cuban) Sold Broadcast.com To Yahoo! For $5.7 Billion

Episode 010: Shane Snow – How To Accelerate Success Using Smart Cuts

Did you enjoy the podcast?

This was a jam packed episode full of great content.  Adam Braun is a leader who is constantly learning in order to help us all live a better life. Who do you know that needs to hear this?  Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

Bio From AdamBraun.com

Adam Braun is a New York Times bestselling author and the Founder of Pencils of Promise, an award-winning organization that has broken ground on more than 300 schools for children in poverty around the world. He is also the Director of the Global Education Platform, an initiative conceived by the UN Special Envoy for Global Education to accelerate breakthroughs in learning innovation. 

He has been featured as a speaker at The White House, the United Nations and the Clinton Global Initiative. He has also been named to Business Insider’s 40 Under 40, Wired Magazine‘s 50 People Who Are Changing the World, and was selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s original ten Global Shapers.